Who’s Who in Technology 7.24.06
Ramos Mays: Developing livestock tattoos for better security
from St. Louis Business Journal
Ramos Mays, 25, co-founder of Somark Innovations, is developing a proprietary identification system that uses a biocompatible ink “tattoo” instead of microchip technology on livestock. Somark is targeting livestock applications for the technology but plans to one day expand it to other uses.
Somark’s technology serves the same function as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems, commonly used today in tracking livestock, which use a chip applied to an ear tag and antenna. Instead of a chip, Somark’s technology uses liquid ink, which costs less and is biocompatible with the animal, Mays said.
“Five to 10 percent of the ear tags used today fall out, so they are not permanent,” Mays said. “With our technology, it’s permanent. For security purposes, this verifies the source of the animal.”
Mays said his company’s technology will increase in demand due to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s mandate for a National Animal Identification System by January 2009 for cattle, in response to the 2003 outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Mays, along with Somark co-founder Mark Pydynowski, helped Somark win the Business Showcase Award from the Missouri Small Business Development Centers, and $50,000 in seed money from Washington University’s Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies through its Olin Cup entrepreneurial competition.
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